Summers End When Ashes Fall
by Penumbra Ila Grey
Summary: Serana x OC ASP. This is mainly gonna focus on her journey as a whole, not just her time spent with Serana. Its going to start from the very beginning, so if that's not your thing you're better off looking elsewhere. I'm not really sure when or where I'm going to introduce Serana. As much as it is her story, its also my OC'S. Other than that, I hope you enjoy her exploits. Cheers.
1. Ash Igna Rai, At Your Service

I woke up to a bright light, and somebody saying, "Hey you, you're finally awake." Slowly opening my eyes, I waited for the white spots to fade from my vision before finding out just where I was. Blinking slowly, my surroundings finally came into view and it only served to confuse me more. I was in the back of a horse drawn carriage, with a few others beside me. They looked ragged and worn, but what I noticed next was more pressing, and sent a tingle of fear down my spine. They were all bound at the wrist. As it turned out, so was I.

Looking down, I noticed that not only were my hands bound, but the gear and clothes I had were stripped away and in their place were roughspun clothes. Meant for prisoners, the cloth chafed my skin and if it stayed on, was sure to make me bleed.

The tunic was a light brown, bordering on tan and if I were able to stand up it would have reached just before my knees. It was tied around me, resting on the top of my hips with a long coil of rope. It wrapped around me twice before settling in the front with a loosely tied knot.

I briefly allowed my mind to wonder that if I wasn't wearing what I had been before, somebody must've disrobed me. I didn't like that and slammed the door closed on that thought before it could manifest anymore than it already had. So I instead turned to the rest of my attire, or lack thereof. The pants were made of the same material and instead of giving me shoes, they took the extra material from the pants and turned it into footwraps. The pants had the added benefit of hurting even more, for what she felt, were obvious reasons. That being the chafing of her-- "You were caught trying to cross the border right?" My thoughts were interrupted by the man in front of me, whose name I did not know.

I surveyed him, trying to ascertain what he was expecting to get out of a conversation here. He was relatively large, and had bright blond hair, falling to his shoulders. His eyes were blue, and I felt like I was staring into water. Pulling my attention away from his somewhat transfixing gaze, and figuring he was just trying to ease the unknowns of our situation, I answered. "Yea. Bad luck running into you I guess." He let out a low laugh, before continuing. "Well no use lamenting it now eh, Wood Elf?" Instead of answering immediately, I paused for a minute and took this time to watch the wind sway through the tall trees, knocking bits of snow all around. Despite the situation, I found it in me to smile, something the people around me took note of.

"Why are you smiling? We're on our way to Oblivion knows where, and you're smiling?!?" The question this time came not from in front of me, but across from me and a bit to my right. I studied him carefully before I gave an answer. He had brown hair, with a wiry frame and spindly arms. His face was a bit dirty, and he wore the same roughspun tunic as I. He looked a coward, and I pitied him. Cowards didn't live very long. Not in this world, anyways. Especially not in Skyrim. From what I'd heard during my time in Cyrodiil, Nords that were not battle worthy were the lowest of the low.

I stopped critiquing him for now though, and turned to answer his justified question. "How can I smile you ask? The trees here remind me of home." I paused and took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the flora and fauna around me. Pine trees, and some native wildflowers. We moved quickly, but I was still able to pick out some of my favorite flowers. Dragon's Tongue was the first I saw, and was definitively my favorite. The dichotomy of the flower was brilliant, splitting the four orange-gold leaves perfectly. Two branched out to either side, with one folding down in front to make the lower "jaw". The fourth was perpendicular to the two on the side, keeping them from folding back on themselves. Then you had the three light yellow petals matching perfectly with the orange-gold ones that made up the backdrop.

Two of the yellow petals were sideways, stretching just outside of the orange-golds. They also curved slightly inwards, giving the impression of the flower having wings. The final yellow flower went straight up, before curving to a stop, slightly looking down at the last really important piece of this beautiful puzzle. With the final yellow flower looking down and looking like the head of a dragon, a small purple flower jutted straight out of the middle curving around the edges so that the underside was hidden from normal view. Fittingly, the end of the flower was split in half, marking the tongue, and where the flower got its namesake. I also saw Lavender and some Tundra Cotton and I smiled wide. It was a little slice of home. If I survived whatever this was going to be, I knew I was going to like Skyrim.

"Not knowing where our destination is, I'll take the small blessing where I can get them." I didn't miss the half smile that appeared on the Nord who had first spoken to me's face. "Damn you Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you, I could've stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell." The brown haired Nord then turned to me, as if saying the words he was about to say next aloud would save us. They would not. "You and me, we shouldn't be here. It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants."

The man next to him just shook his head, and spoke. "We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief." The mood soured even more then. "Shut up back there!" the imperial guard shouted over his shoulder, refusing to pay us any more attention than we were already getting. If I were an egotistical woman, I might love the attention currently being sent my way. I am very much not.

The constant stares and jeers put me off, and I found myself sinking into my chair to escape. It was unlike anything I had experienced before. I was used to warm faces, people who loved me and wanted nothing but the best to come my way. The whole ordeal made me miss Valenwood even more.

The man next to the one who had first spoken to me asked a question and it being one I kinda wanted the answer to, I leaned in and listened for the response. "And what's wrong with him, huh?" He nodded his head towards the man next to me as he did. He was certainly dressed much differently than the rest of us.

He wore a big fur coat of black and gray, and had very dirty blond hair, bordering on brown. What more made me curious however, was the cloth around his mouth, preventing him from speaking along with his hands being bound. it would've been a sight to see, had we been in a different scenario.

"Watch your tongue. You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King" he snapped, catching both me and the brown haired nord who had asked aback. Realization seemed to dawn on his face then, and I felt my blood go cold from what was uttered next. "Ulfric? The Jarl of Windhelm? You're the leader of the rebellion. But if they've captured you... Oh gods, where are they taking us?" I very much wanted to know the answer to that question.

And then I didn't. "I don't know where we're going, but Sovngarde awaits." I didn't know much about what the Nords believed to be Sovngarde, but I knew enough to know how you got there. Some questions are better off just not being asked or answered. Now resigned to my inevitable execution, I finally took stock of the attire that the man who had first spoken to me had on.

Upon seeing it, I scowled. how come me and the coward were the only two people stripped of previous attire? Like honestly, I was a lady. I did have some sense of modesty, even if it wasn't very defined. I stopped thinking about it and took him in again. He wore a dark blue tunic that ended at his hips. The tunic had a dark brown leather strap running across it diagonally, from right shoulder to left hip. His outfit was finished with a pair of fur gloves and boots, both a dark brown in color. My observations were cut short however, by our sudden arrival into town.

"General Tullius, sir! The headsman is waiting!" The imperial guard shouted from the driver's seat, to someone I couldn't see off to my right. The man, Tullius, grunted in acknowledgement and said, "Good. Let's get this over with." And with that, we pulled to a stop. The dark haired, roughspun tunic wearing Nord started mumbling to himself then. Perhaps he was praying to whatever deities he held belief in, that this was all going to be just a bad dream.

It wasn't. There was no chance of waking up from this. Of being at home in bed awaking from some cruel nightmare. Instead we were surrounded by reality on all sides, threatening to close in on us in our last few moments of life and ending us with a whimper, instead of the bang everybody deserves to go out with. The man in front of me spoke up again, this time to the brown haired Nord on his left. "Hey, what village are you from, horse thief?" The Nord tilted his head towards him and asked, "Why do you care?" The man in blue smiled then, and shook his head slightly from side to side. "A Nord's last thoughts should be of home."

His prisoner in arms didn't seem happy about being in the position for last thoughts, but spoke up nonetheless. "Rorikstead. I'm... I'm from Rorikstead." I was starting to get really annoyed with the fact that I didn't know any of my fellow prisoners names, save Ulfric. I figured I'd learn them soon enough, but still. It was getting on my nerves. So when the man in front of me spoke again, I bit back a sigh of indignation, and let him speak. "Look at him, General Tullius, the Military Governor. And it looks like the Thalmor are with him. Damn elves."

General Tullius looked anything but imposing. He was a tanned Imperial, with graying hair and noticeable age lines. If I had to guess, he was probably around 50. A baby by my standards, but getting up in his years by man's. He wore a gilded imperial vest, befit for a General. It had a golden dragon in the center of his chest, with two curved angel wings directly below. Along with two pawniards on either shoulder. It was finished off by a belt with a sabercat's head, engraved in the middle.I didn't like him at all, but it was mitigated by what Ralof had just said, and I scowled.

I felt a twinge of annoyance at the blatant lumping together of all elf kind. We just wanted to be left alone. I had been given more than enough reasons over my lifetime to harbour hatred for the Thalmor, and above them, The Aldmeri Dominion. He kept speaking though, and I found myself biting my cheek yet again. "I bet they had something to do with this. This is Helgen. I used to be sweet on a girl from here. Wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with juniper berries mixed in. Funny, when I was a boy, Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe."

We started being ushered off the wagon then, and whatever else he wanted to say was cut short by him being unceremoniously dragged out of the cart and onto his feet. The treatment was the same for the rest of us, though I thought I detected a twinge of sympathy from one of the guards. He likely knew on some level I had nothing to do with this "rebellion" I had never heard of before today. It didn't stop him from dragging my ass out of the cart though.

Thoroughly disgruntled by the events that had just taken place, my slight anger was nullified by the keep we had found ourselves in. It was beautiful, in its own way. The cobblestone towers rose up from the ground in a magnificent display, and i could see why most their structures utilized it. Valenwood had none of that. For the most part it was just tiny villages scattered around the woods here and there. many were mainly centered on the coastline, overlooking the Abecean Sea.

I was pulled back from my thoughts by an Imperial. Her voice was harsh and gravelly, and she told us to step towards the block when our name was called. Well at least that would be solved. Still, didn't really do much good to learn their names if my head was gonna roll twenty seconds later. I would've pinched the bridge of my nose had i been able to, irritated by the days events. I had been in plenty of scrapes on my way towards Skyrim, but I never had to worry about being executed.

For all my wit, I had a hard time believing I was making it out of this one alive. A second Imperial appeared, and started calling of names from the list in front of him. "Ulfric Stormcloak. Jarl of Windhelm. Ralof of Riverwood. Lokir of Rorikstead." Finally I had names for these people. Ralof headed towards the block, but not before saying something I thought interesting. "It has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric!" With that, he walked over to the block, and awaited his soon to be execution.

Lokir was less inclined. The brown haired Nord was arguing with the listman. He was saying something about not being rebels, and the oh so classic, "you can't do this." I was about to tell him to give it up when he took off, and my heart sank in my chest. No way was he going to outlive Imperial archers. While nowhere near as good as me, I had heard stories of their skills, and even saw them in action a few times. What they made up for in not being Elves, was numbers. Each was great in their own right(By human standards anyways) and I knew of many a person felled by them.

As soon as the Imperial captain called for the archers, I sighed. He didn't make it ten steps. He fell to the ground lifeless, as six arrows stuck out of him from different angles. "You didn't have to kill him," I said quietly, before I stepped up to face the listman. The look on his face made me want to laugh. His eyes widened slightly, and both he and the captain exchanged glances. It looked like both were unaware there was going to be an extra prisoner. The captain turned to her compatriot with a scowl and spoke. "Hadvar. What the hell is this?"

The listman Hadvar, seemed just as perplexed as she was and didn't look like he knew what he wanted to do with me. so he settled for his training. He pulled his list back in front of him once again, and asked me my name. "Who are you?" I debated over answering, but I figured that I had nothing to lose amd saying nothing likely involved things not going my way at all. So I straightened my shoulders, arched my back and spoke. "Ash Igna Rai, at your service" I said, flourishing a little and dipping into a low bow. It would've looked better, had my hands been untied but I'd take what I could get.

"Not many wood elves would choose to come alone to Skyrim." said Hadvar, and I felt a twinge of annoyance. "Nor would they choose to be beheaded for simply crossing the border" I said, going to cross my arms before I remembered, oh wait,THEY WERE BOUND. I was really starting to get annoyed. He chuckled, and i felt a bit of my annoyance pass. He seemed a sensible guy, which sucked because he could and probably was sympathizing with me, but he still had a job to do. So regarding that, he turned back to his commanding officer.

The look on her face said it all, and I knew what her answer was going to be before the words left either of their mouths. "Captain," he said. "What should we do? She's not on the list." She scoffed once and started walking towards the block. "Forget the list. She goes to the block." Damn. "Son of a bitch" I muttered, shaking my head as I made to follow her. I was stopped by Hadvar however, and the next thing he said made it really hard not to like him. "I'll make sure you're remains are transported back to Valenwood.

While not comforting at all, it was still nice to see him go the extra mile for someone he didn't know, even if that someone was soon to be dead. And without a head. Ugh today was starting to give me a headache. For an execution block, it was pretty dull, amd my guess was that it was uncommon for executions to be held here and I smiled. Well here's to hoping the blade was sharp enough to go all the way through in one go. I did not want to be that guy with half a head on and an extra swing needed.

The execution block was maybe 15 feet across, and ten feet wide. It was set up to the left of the main road when you came down through the town. There was a half moon circle on the ground, that I guess we were expected to put our heads in. Ugh, this sucked. Really didn't think this was how my day was gonna go when I woke up this morning. But then I found myself on a carriage, to an unknown destination. I ignored my frustration, instead tuning back in just in time to laugh out loud. It was not appreciated. "As we commend your souls to Aetherius, blessings of the Eight Divines upon you, for you are the salt and earth of Nirn, our beloved..." She was shut down rather quickly and the person who cut her off was my reason for laughing.

"For the love of Talos, shut up and let's get this over with." With that, the red haired Nord waltzed right over to the block. The priestess bristled and scowled, but relented. "As you wish." Then he was forced to his knees, head placed into the makeshift stock as Tullius made to stand over him. "Come on, I haven't got all morning. My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials. Can you say the same?" He tilted his head as he spoke, making sure he made eye contact. he smiled at him and you could see the tick marks slowly appear on his face. I laughed again, not caring to silence it in favor of pissing of the general even more. It would surely make me next, but I would worry about that when it came.

"Well spoken Nord!" I shouted, snapping my arms out to my sides, before I remembered my bindings. I locked eyes with the name of the man I would never know, and set in stone a decree. "I name you now, Dorāhwyn! May you live forever in Sovngarde!" He looked confused for a second not knowing the nature of the word or its meaning, but eventually settled into an easy smile. It was something only prisoners were able to do. Unable to see race, creed or color and instead seeing only brothers and sisters in arms, oppressed by everyone but their fellow prisoners. He spoke one last time, and his response made me smile. "I take the title gladly Wood Elf, and may Valenwood sing praise of you're adventures forever!" He had no idea how right his decree then was going to be, and neither did I.

Then the axe fell, and his head landed in the box in front of him, never speaking or blinking again. The imperial captain looked me dead in the eyes, and damn it all if I wasn't always right. While others were shouting slurs and curses at the legion, and who was now my favorite chick here yelled out "You Imperial bastards!" The captain called me. "Next, the Wood Elf!" I swore I was gonna take her steel armament and smack her over the head with it till she stopped moving. The bitch knew my name, and couldn't even say it. "I guess Imperial customs have gone out the window in the last 100 years..." I muttered, slowly making my way over to the block. One of the rebellion laughed, and pray my soul it was the female who had shouted what I thought funny.

If we both made it out of this alive, I swore then and there that she would be my first conquest made in Skyrim. I was forced to my knees then, finally able to stare down at the block, amd really get a good look at it. it really was just a half circle block of wood, propped up by a few cobblestone blocks on either side. The wood was cracked and battered throughout, like it had been used many a time. Odd then, that the ground didn't reek of death. Maybe this simple block of wood was just picked up and moved at the whim of the legion, creating impromptu execution stands wherever they deemed necessary or fit. They touted about justice and order, but all it made me do was think of the Thalmor.

No matter which side you fell on, they were both the same. People just didn't want to believe it. I already hated the Thalmor and The Aldmeri Dominion. Today was enough to make me hate both. While the Thalmor were openly hated for crimes against Tamriel, the Empire was guilty of far more subtle cruelties. They wanted to spout and slander The Aldmeri Dominion and all the wrong they had done, when they were guilty of just as many injustices as this one. In my case, execution for things falsely accused of, in others, imprisonment without trial. Not to mention their deep seeded racism of any non human, and even within humanity, there was a tier list. Imperials, by simple right, were purportedly the best, with the Nords being the only other sect anywhere close to the same plane as them.

Then you had the Breton's and Redguards. Breton's being below both Imperials and Nords for one reason. Their affinity for magic. Both imperials and Nords alike had long seeded hatred and fear for the Elf races and by extension anyone who utilized magic. One notable exception to this rule was The Imperial battlemages of Battlespire, who trained from an early age to become proficient weapons of magical prowess. They too though, were looked down on by the basic populace, though never outwardly expressed or shown. It was spoken about in whispers and hurried words, always casting a look over your shoulder for fear you might be overheard. If you were overheard by a member of the Legion it was a death sentence. they would haul you off with no explanation to somewhere no one would find you.

Their view on Elves was far worse than simple disappearances. While it was much more common for Elves of every type to be found near the capitol in Cyrodil, it did not mean we were liked. While those few in the Legion were given a pass because they chose to fight for the Empire, the average Elven citizen of Cyrodiil was judged harshly. This was especially true in Skyrim. I had never been to most of Tamriel's other provinces, such as Hammerfell but what I knew of them was not good. Aside from Black Marsh and Morrowind, the rest of Tamriel's provinces spurned us and had at some point used us as slaves. That was not to say that the Dunmer liked us however. My people were widely regarded as lesser beings, and only slightly above that of the Khajiit and Argonians.

I had been privy to such abuse and ridicule my entire life. I watched helpless, as the Aldmeri Dominion performed a coup d'état, murdering our monarch and wrenching Valenwood away from us. The Altmer claimed it was for our safety and protection from a failing empire, but I had already seen them for what there were. I had watched as they had-- my thoughts were interrupted by an ungodly scream, one that shook me to my core and everyone around. "What was that?" Hadvar asked, head tilting up and eyes dragging across the sky, seemingly in search of something. Tullius looked generally annoyed, and clicked his tongue twice before speaking. "It's nothing you need to concern yourself with. Remember, he scolded, you have a task to complete."

Despite myself, I couldn't help but loathe Tullius even more. Maybe it was my pity towards Hadvar, who in my eyes had earned it with that simple sentence of willingness to return my body to Valenwood. The roar sounded again, and everyone stopped again and listened. Hadvar looked uneasy and despite knowing not to, he asked again. "There it is again. Did you hear that?" Tullius ignored him, and my executioner picked up his axe. I closed my eyes, and uttered one last prayer. "Y'ffre guide me..." I whispered, silently praying for my goddess's protection. The axe fell towards my head, and I closed my eyes, relinquishing my life to Y'ffre. Except that didn't happen. Instead the world exploded and all hell broke loose.


	2. Hellscape

When the whole world exploded, all I could think was how you always told me to keep pushing forward. That nothing else mattered except putting one foot in front of the other when you could think of nothing else to do. And so I did. I didn't wait for Ralof, or Hadvar to tell me to get my ass in gear and move. I did it on instinct. So when they both shouted at me to run, I laughed. Somehow I had been spared, and Y'ffre's will guided me still. When I looked up however, I paled and began to wonder if I was truly going to live. I heard Tullius say, "What in Oblivion is that?!" Something was circling the sky. And when it landed, people died. "Dragon!!!!" Someone shouted, before turning away and booking It in the opposite direction. They didn't get very far.

The dragon opened its mouth and screamed, roaring jets of fire spewing out of its mouth, before those jets connected with the body who was running. They screamed twice, flailing around in absolute agony before the dragon flapped its wings once, flying up into the air. The beat shattered cobblestone, and the screams were silenced as a block fell on top of their head with a sickening squelch. I stopped running, and vomited into the dirt where I stood. I had made it out of the frying pan, only to jump directly into the fire beneath it. The tall and proud towers of Helgen collapsed around us, and it looked like hell. The buildings were torched and there was debris everywhere. If this is what Y'ffre thought would save me, I wanted nothing to do with it.

These people were innocent, going about their day to day lives when we came in and started this chain of destruction and devastation. Ralof yelled at me to keep moving, and I blindly followed. We ran up through the streets, before dipping into one of the few watchtowers that was still standing. Legionaries and Stormcloaks alike were huddled together, their war briefly forgotten amidst the battle for survival. Everyone was counting out how many more minutes they were going to live. At any moment, each one of us knew we could breathe our last, snuffed out by some higher being. I bolted up the rough cobblestone stairs, and reached a plateau, before the wall next to me shattered, and I came face to face with a dragon for the first time.

The Stormcloak off to my left didn't see it coming. The rubble slammed into him, and he was still.

I had no idea if Ralof was still behind me, but I could do nothing but keep moving. The dragon, jet black scales with piercing red eyes, seemed to look directly at me before it opened its maw and screamed. I shifted to the left before my brain told my body to, and the jets of fire the dragon released missed me by millimeters. From my new standing point, I saw a slight gap between the dragon and the wall. Directly behind it, was a building whose roof had been torched and set ablaze, before falling apart and landing inside the building.

I audibly groaned, and cursed out loud. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me…" If I wanted to live, I needed to jump. To make a leap of faith over a distance I didn't know if I could cross. With death in front of me, I closed my eyes and breathed once. "Y'ffre guide me…" I whispered, before I leapt out of the watchtower and into the building below. When I landed, I threw myself into a roll, hoping to avoid breaking anything. It worked, slowing me just enough to not break bone. The next thing that happened put everything into perspective just a little bit better. As I stood up, one of the support beams from the roof collapsed, unable to hold its own weight anymore under the pressure and heat of the fire. It slammed down in front of me, sending sparks and searing wood flying in all directions. I knew nothing one moment, and sheer agony the next.

I screamed harder than I ever had before, as fire coursed through my veins. I looked down, and was greeted by a 14 inch piece of jagged wood going through my side. I fumbled around the wood, trying to get a grasp on it to pull it out, only to fail and scream harder. It was stuck halfway, jutting out from both my back and my stomach. While only being on the left side, it did not look good for my future I'd hoped for upon escaping. It burned and seared the entrance and exit shut, having been on FUCKING FIRE when it pierced me. I hiccupped and fell to my knees, tears falling and head spinning from pain. I could smell my flesh burning, and I vomited again. "Fucking, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck." I whimpered, wishing more than anything else in that moment to be home again.

"Am I going to die here??" I whispered quietly, unbelieving of everything that had left up to this moment. Just yesterday I was walking through Cyrodiil in the sprawling city of Bruma, waiting for my chance to slip across the border. My world had come crashing down then and I had wound up here, in that cart. "Get up." Someone whispered to my left, and I whipped my head round to find them. No one was there however, and I let out a shaky laugh. My mind was playing tricks on me. This was it then. This would be where I die. "You have to keep putting one foot in front of the other when you can think of nothing else to do." My eyes, which has been slowly closing, snapped open and I hauled myself to my feet with a scream. The adage came back to me, harkening back to days long since passed.

It was a lesson I remembered well, having been hammered into my mind, body and soul from birth. My mother was many things, but foolish wasn't one of them. She had always made sure to teach me exactly what I needed, even if it was at the wrong times. I stumbled only once, before breaking into a run, determined to live. Every beat was fire, but I pushed through the agony, and didn't let another scream, moan or whimper crest my lips. I leapt off the second floor, plummeting a bit before hitting the ground and rolling, making sure to roll on my right side only. As tough as I was, even I thought that would kill me. I bounced up from my position on the ground, wincing once before continuing my escape. I heard noise and movement off to my left, and moved to follow it, traipsing the burnt cobblestone steps to get there.

"Haming, you need to get over here. Now! Torolf! Gods... Everyone get back!" As I turned the corner, I saw Hadvar yell at a small boy, no more than ten, as the dragon landed right behind him and inhaled. I'd be damned if anyone else was gonna die today. I made a beeline directly towards the towering beast, knocking the kid out of the way as I got there. He breathed fire, and I ducked down, sliding to the left before hopping up right next to his face. Then I did the dumbest thing I would all my life. I slugged It with every ounce of strength that I had. The dragon's head cracked sideways, surprised by the force it hadn't braced against. I would've hit it again, but I knew that one hit had broken every single bone in my hand.

If I lived through this, I wondered if I would ever be able to hold a bow again. I just kept racking up the injuries. My mistake was realized when I was lifted off my feet. The dragon swung its tail in my direction, and the feeling of sudden weightlessness abruptly stopped when I slammed into the stone wall behind me. The 14 inch wooden spike I was impaled on went all the way through, and pain was all I knew. My whole body screamed, and I thought I was dying. my mouth opened in a silent scream, vocal chords unable to work under the overload of pain. I glanced down shakily at my side and for the third time today, vomited where I stood. The skin that had seared shut and kept my blood and organs where they were supposed to be had burst apart, painting a grotesque image. it looked like a star from the heavens had pierced me through, albeit not that pretty. If I got to a healer soon, I might be able to hope for a decent scar, but that wasn't my first priority at the moment.

Hamming was still getting up from the ground, and the dragon wasn't done yet. He reared back, preparing to swing his neck out to the side, and gobble the boy whole. I had a feeling my days were never going to get easier. I paused only for a brief second, channeling a basic fire spell I'd learned long ago. Ahhh this was going to hurt. A lot. I pressed bother hands on the entrance and exit of where I had been impaled by the burning wood. Then I bit the bottom of my lip so hard I drew blood. I willed the heat to my fingertips, and released. The spell took form, and seared my wound shut once more. Barely standing from the pain, and seconds away from passing out, I did the only thing I could think to do. I screamed, and let all of my frustration and pain flow freely into my voice. The dragon, seconds from killing a ten year old boy, stopped immediately and whipped its head to stare directly at me.

It roared twice, seemingly in agony, before it flipped it's wings and sent the remaining survivors scattering. One of its wing beats hit me in the stomach, and I once again experienced the feeling of weightlessness. I slammed into something, and saw black. When I woke, it was to hell. Helgen ceased to exist. The tall towers and simple homes were a shadow of what they had been when we first rode in. I didn't know how long I had been out, but it was long enough for even the fiercest of fires to become whimpers. There were no people around, and I had no way of knowing if any of my efforts had proved effective. I found that, upon trying to get up and look around, I couldn't move. I almost didn't turn around, afraid of what I might see. Or rather, what I might not. I didn't know how my mental state would go if I was separated from my lower half. Course if I was, I guess it wouldn't really matter in the end. I'd be too dead to care.

What I found instead both concerned and relieved me. What I had slammed into (before passing out), was one of the cottages that had been in the middle of burning down when the dragon had been here. It had since collapsed, leaving me stranded underneath it. What was worse, I couldn't feel my legs. I didn't know if that was from the fear, or if they had been made victims when the building came crashing down on top of my unconscious body. "If it's not one thing it's another…" I muttered, still in shock over how the days events had led me to this exact position. My voice came out hoarse and cracked, bruised from the constant beating I had taken today. I tried breathing in deeply, but experienced a sharp pain in my right side and erupted into a violent coughing fit.

My blood splattered against what had to be the only untouched cobblestone left in all of Helgen. My injuries kept racking up, and at this rate, I really was going to die. I willed myself to stay awake, attempting to ward off the encroaching shadows threatening to consume my vision. It was a pitiful attempt, and didn't work. I passed out into black once more, and didn't awake for a while. When I did, I was no longer trapped underneath the remains of the cottage. The cottage had shifted and moved, crashing down behind me sometime during my sleep. I shifted, sightly, groaning in pain before gritting my teeth and pushing myself to my knees. That was something at least. I seemed to still have all my limbs. Looking down, I was pleasantly surprised to see my legs, though it didn't come without some despair.

They were covered in ash, marring my light bronze skin and had several burns, judging from the pain I could feel radiating off them. Along with the burns, I wondered if they had sustained any fractures when the building collapsed on me. "Well, there's only one way to find out for sure" I spoke grumpy, and did the second dumbest thing I would do all day. I stood up. Instantly regret filled every piece of my being as more pain than I thought possible to feel arced through my entire body. I screamed once, and fell in a sideways arc, before landing in the dirt on my back, opposite how I had started. They were definitely broken. "Ahhh man…. This sucks.." I cried, unable to stop myself. I wanted comfort more than anything else on Tamriel, but unless a miracle happened, I wasn't gonna get it. The hole in my side had yet to reopen, so that was good news, but I was still in a real bad way.

If I didn't see someone within the day, I would be dead by nightfall. Having wished for a miracle I knew wasn't coming, I counted wounds in order of severity, before gritting my teeth and flipping over on my stomach. The hole in my side had been dealt with haphazardly by me, but who knew when that was going to reopen again. Dragging myself on the ground would only speed up the process of it opening, and when it did, I would die. I had lost too much blood as it was, anymore and it would surely spell my end. Then there was my broken right hand. I tried to move any of the bones in it, but stopped when agony poured into me and screaming started. That just left my broken legs, and the burns I could do nothing about. I was gonna have some many scars if I lived through this I doubted anyone would approach me.

When I felt the tang of blood in my mouth, I laughed again, only to turn on my side and splatter the ground with my blood yet again. "Oh, right….. I forgot about the internal injuries, and my lip." I'm sure if anyone saw me, they would have written me off as lost cause. To damaged to save. To hell with them. With injuries catalogued and nothing else to do but survive, I slowly started to crawl out of Helgen. Making it to the front gate was a horrendous ordeal, and I had to stop several times to catch my breath. Whatever was going on inside me, was only getting worse, and it was a race against time. From my view on the ground I couldn't see much, but I could tell this town was done for. No one would ever live, laugh or love in Helgen again. The last of the tall cobblestone towers had fallen, and there wasn't a house here that hasn't been burnt to the ground. I didn't see many bodies though, and it gave me hope that people survived.

The dirt was rough and hard, making it excruciating to drag myself across, but I pushed forward, determined to see tomorrow. After what felt like hours but could only have been ten minutes, I made it to the gate, opposite the side we rode in from. It was closed. It was a dark brown, splintering everywhere and generally looking on its last legs. My journey would be cut short if I couldn't figure out a way to open the door. I tried everything I could from my position, but I lacked the leverage to do anything worthwhile. The door was heavy, and with my right hand broken and my legs useless from the knee down, I was running out of options. I tried pushing the door open with my left hand, but I found that lifting my arm more than a couple inches tugged at the hole in my side. The last thing I wanted was that opening. So I lay there on my stomach in the dirt, slowly dying while trying to come up with a way to keep living. When I failed to, I chuckled a bit, before sighing.

"I give up." The words left my lips with a whisper, more sour than anything I had ever said. "I've got nothing, Anyris. No tricks this time. Nothing I can do to get out of this depressing place…" I flashed back to the one person in the world I missed most at that time then. Anyris. My brother in everything but blood. How I missed him so. He lay back in Valenwood though, and would never know my fate. If I closed my eyes, I could picture him, standing above me and reaching out a hand. His blonde hair swept off to one side, slightly falling in front of his left eye, obscuring it from view. The way his ears, curved up and back before forming the classic point of our kind. His golden brown eyes. The way he smiled at me when everything had gone wrong.. The scar he got on his right side when he had saved me from a blooddrunk Khajiit, high on moonsugar. How it never quite went away, forever there in the shape of our twin moons, Secunda and Masser.

His tall but lean form, resembling an upright gazelle without the hooves. The way he didn't judge when I told him I didn't like men, even when my parents had. How I missed him so… I hoped he wouldn't cry. That thought was when I realized that I was. At some point during my reflection on him, tears had started to fall. They wouldn't stop now, and every sob racked my chest with pain. Before I was truly gone, I thought I could hear footsteps on the other side of gate, and shouts to get it open. I closed my eyes for what should have been the last time, and was still. When I awoke again, after an unknown but lengthy amount of time, it was not to Aetherius or Oblivion like I thought it would be. I was in…. Where the hell was I? It was dark, with little to no light illuminating wherever I was. I tried to get up, but couldn't move. Pain still very much lingered in my body. I figured that if I could still feel pain, I was alive. Not being able to see however, was cause for concern, but being unable to do anything in this state ended the thought of capture.

Even if I was, they had kept me alive. The tomorrow I was so desperately wishing for was here, staring directly at me and daring me to try and take it. I was sure as hell gonna try. My eyes adjusted to the gloom, and for the first time since Helgen, I surveyed my surroundings. I first found myself laying in a warm bed, with a nightstand nearby. While the lighting left much to be desired, it was still there, and the longer I was in this room, with its low lighting and warm bed, the safer I felt. Then the door opened, and the feeling was shattered. It cracked open just a hair at first, as if testing whether or not the noise would wake me. When I made no sudden movements, it opened wider. Whoever was on the other side of the door stepped through, before slowly closing it behind them. With the door fully shut, they turned their back to me and shuffled about the room, seemingly looking for something.

They stopped at a corner of the room, opposite the bed and me, still searching for something. With a small "aha!" they grabbed what they had been looking for and pulled it free from where it was. I tensed for a brief moment, not knowing what they had just grabbed. My worries were assuaged however, when they placed it down next to the bed and sat on it. It was a small wooden stool, only about 2 feet in height, just enough to be level with the bed. From what I could tell in the low light, it was worn and old, having been presumably used many a time. The mystery person reached off the side and opened the drawer of the nightstand, looking once again for something I couldn't see. They pulled out a small oblong shape, eight inches long and held it. I heard the striking of a match, and the room filled with light. I closed my eyes and tried exceptionally hard to appear asleep. That notion changed immediately once I felt hands on me. My eyes snapped open and I lunged forward, survival alone in my thoughts.

The hands released me and upon lunging, the person on the stool fell backwards, bringing me with them. We crashed into a heap on the floor and I truly took stock of the situation. I locked eyes with my adversary and was struck stupid. The person underneath me, pinned by my body and my right forearm resting against their neck looked terrified. It was a lithe woman, not taller than 5'5". She had bright blue eyes and wavy brown hair that fell to her shoulders. I was just about to snarl at her, asking what kinda right she thought she had putting hands on me when my body gave out, and I collapsed on top of her, unable to breathe. She gave a loud oof, as all the air left her lungs and she wheezed several times, trying to get her lungs to work again. Meanwhile, I was struggling to breathe. I was inhaling air, but something was wrong. It didn't feel like any of it was actually getting to my lungs. I put my hands to my throat and clawed desperately, rolling off her as I did, trying anything to breathe again.

Her eyes snapped to my neck and she hopped up, instantly forgetting about her own problem in favor of mine. She flew over to me, hands already glowing a golden white, masked in some sort of spell. She went to touch me but I swatted her hand away, as black spots swim in my vision. "Let me help you…" She whispered desperately, while holding back until I gave the ok. I looked up at her face, and saw nothing but kindness. With my back against the wall, I lowered my hands, and left my life in her hands. She approached me slowly, afraid I might attack her again, but my consciousness was quickly fading. Her hands went straight for my chest, on the side I had found it hard to breathe with during the hell that was Helgen. The spell overloaded my senses, sending my head spinning. It hurt like hell. Just when I thought I was going to die, the pain shifted into a pleasant bliss. I could feel myself falling, but I needed to say something before I did. I grabbed her wrist, and pulled her close, eyes meeting yet again. "Thanks" I coughed out, before the world spun in six different directions, and I saw black once more.


	3. Where To Go From Here

When I woke this time, the first thing that went through my mind and simultaneously passed my lips was a sentiment I would eventually come to regret. "Man I really hope I'm done with passing out for the next forever and a half." It was never fun waking up in places you didn't know with no idea how the hell you had gotten there in the first fuckin place. I wasn't as uneasy as I had been upon first waking, as the girl who had saved me not only seemed to be alone, but also definitely didn't have any sort of combat training. A simple lunge from me on death's door was all it took to incapacitate her. Any fighter worth their own would know I had no chance of winning that, regardless of how weak she might be. Lack of blood did tend to become an issue after a while. From the light peeking through the curtain above my head, it was likely midday. I sat up slowly, every motion sending pain throughout my body. I needed to know where I was, and who had saved me, along with their intentions.

Before that though, I wanted to look about the room I had presumably stayed in for a while. I turned slightly from my seated position to face the curtain, and threw it open unaware of just how bright it was. The light slammed into my retinas, and I was blinded. Definitely Midday. I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my vision and rid myself of the sunspots I was currently seeing. When they cleared, I finally got a good look of where I had been staying for the first time. It was…. Small. The bed lay in the right hand corner at the back of the room, with a nightstand within arms reach on the left. The nightstand fit flush against the wall, staying mostly out of the way for whoever lay here. There was a bureau diagonal the bed, in the front left hand corner of the room, adjacent to the door. There were no sconces anywhere along the walls, leading me to believe one of two possibilities. Either the room didn't get used very much, or the owner was very poor.

Wall sconces were a staple in any inn or proper home, as there was no other practical way to light them. Lanterns were effective but expensive, oil being a rare commodity to be treasured and used only on special occasions for the average civilian. Judging by how I had only seen the one woman, I was willing to guess it was the latter. One more cursory glance of the room didn't reveal anything else of note or importance, so I stood slowly and carefully, before I walked to the door and tried the handle. It opened without struggle, surprising me fully at how foolish one girl could be.

I know I was injured and everything, but there was a limit as to how naive you could be. With one last look over my shoulder, I left the room behind, and stepped out into the unknown. The unknown ended up being a hallway, the same oak brown both the door and room had been. It opened up into a kitchen and lounge area but I forewent them for now, in favor of the door at the end of the lounge. Light poured under it from outside, and I took my chances on it being both entrance, and exit. When I opened the door, sunlight poured around me from all sides and I breathed my first fresh air since awakening. I brought my left hand up to shield my eyes, and scanned the horizon for my savior, or captor. She was standing in place, a fair distance away and breathing deeply, holding something out at arms length. I crept closer, not wanting my presence known, curiosity beguiling me to figure out what she was doing. A huge smile lit up my face, caution falling to the wind as I called out to her.

"Didn't think I would meet a fellow archer so soon after arriving to Skyrim in just about the worst way possible." I shouted, covering the distance my legs could not. It was taking all I had just to stay upright, and I didn't want to risk opening anything I shouldn't. She startled, and missed the shot she'd been carefully lining up, tsking loudly before realizing who had just spoken. When she did, it hit her like a freight train and she scrambled over to me as fast as she could, yelling at me all the while. "What the hell are you doing out of bed?!?" She shrieked, all else forgotten in favor of jumping down my fucking throat. It was slightly funny, watching her haphazardly make her way over the rocky ground, and more than once she almost fell. That would've made my day. But no, she didn't fall. Instead she made it over to me in what I thought was record time.

Upon closer glance (now that she was right up in my face), I noticed that her hair was not in fact brown. Instead it was a light blond, sun kissed and suiting her appearance nicely. She wore a yellow and brown dress stretching from head to toe, and she looked characteristically childish in it. The bow though... My eyes snapped immediately to it, and within seconds I had snatched it away from her, right from under her nose. Guess I could still move then. She blinked twice, unsure of where I had gone before turning around and gawking at me, her bow in hand.

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish, and I would've laughed, were it not for the marvelous piece of tech in my hands. Every curve was carefully thought out, aimed at making the most accurate shot possible. The string was strong, and made of what looked like bear hide. It was an interesting choice, certainly durable, but to be able to pull back on it when it was this thick.. I think I underestimated her after all. The bow looked to be modeled after an Eleven bow, but was clearly handcrafted. It was exquisite by all accounts, and I gave it full marks.

The girl seemed to find her words then, and floundered angrily before getting right in my face, demanding her bow back. "What the hell woman!!" She shrieked, arms flailing around like an angry horker. it was kinda funny. She didn't think so. "Stop laughing at me! Gimme my bow back! You've no right to manhandle it with that lustful look in your eyes." I snorted once, before looking her up and down. "Listen here sweet cheeks, there is no way you made this bow. Which means you either stole it, or it was gifted to you by someone with remarkable talent." I said, gesturing to the bow as I spoke. "Either way, you aren't qualified to wield such a beauty. So I'm taking it."

Of course I didn't really have an intention of chauffeuring off with her weapon. I just wanted to see what she would do. What I did not expect was for her to collapse into a puddle on the floor, tears leaping to her eyes as she begged me not to take her soul with me. Well then. I'm an ass. Sheepishly I rubbed the back of my head with one hand, before stumbling forward just enough to be level with her, and kneeling down in front. "Hey." I whispered quietly, trying with my voice to assuage her worries. "That was mean. I'm sorry. I promise, I'm not going to take this from you. Honestly I just wanted to see your reaction."

She looked up at me clumsily and bleary eyed. Instead of looking mad, or used, she just smiled big and thanked me for not taking her world away from her. It was there she struck me as beautiful. People often reveal themselves for who they are when precious things are put on the line and she was no different, it seemed. I liked what I saw, and decided to help. Even for just a little bit. "So sweet cheeks, you gotta name, or am I just gonna keep comin up with embarrassin nicknames for ya till ya tell me?" I stood up precariously when I finished speaking, and offered my hand for her to latch onto.

She grabbed it graciously and between the two of us she was on her feet in no time. She looked up at me curiously, and I was forced to look away, a light blush dusting my bronze cheeks. "Angi." Angi. Angi. Huh. I don't know what I was expecting, but Angi wasn't it. I didn't really expect my first person met to have the same first letter. I decided arbitrarily that I liked her even more for that. "Alright then sweet cheeks, help me to my bed, and tomorrow I'll teach you how to actually shoot."

She looked slightly miffed that I forewent her name in favor of my own, but swept it aside at the offer of teaching. She approached slowly, afraid I'd bite, so for show I looked her dead in the eye and opened my mouth wide before leaning close and biting down. She jumped in the air about a foot, and I had to smother my laughter as a light blush fell upon her cheeks at having fallen for such a petty trick.

"You're kind of a jackass, you know that?" She said, voice silky and amused. I laughed once and made to move towards her. My feet had other plans though, and my legs buckled underneath me, sending me tumbling to the ground. With speed and grace I didn't know she possessed, Angi caught me, angling my body onto her own as she did. It was a bit harsh on my body, but anything was better than the ground in my state.

There were no other incidents on our way, and she wrapped herself up with me and we slowly made our way to the door. Gingerly she put me down on a bed that wasn't mine, but made me feel safer than I had in years. She tucked me in like a child, and I was thrust back to the times I had to do it myself, when I wished momma would. Do it yourself, she'd say. I'm not your keeper. I'm not your keeper. What kind of parent says that to their child? Of course you are, I'd shout back, tears at the brims of my eyes, threatening to, but never cascading over the ridge.

That was weakness in her eyes. So I learned to cry silently, and alone. Even Anyris had never seen my tears fall. Nobody had. That hurt most. Not being able to show I was alive. But I got used to it. Created walls that could never be torn down. I was so sick of maintaining them. It was why I'd left Valenwood. More than seeking adventure, or discovering lost tombs and ancient knowledge, I had left to find someone who could break down my walls. Who would love me, and all my faults, as easily as breathing air. Three years traveling the continent had done nothing to prove such a person existed.

I was still alone.

Without a home, and no sense of belonging. The blush that sprouted up on my cheeks was genuine, and I found myself leaning in to the gesture more than was probably appropriate. I opened my eyes to see Angi looking at me curiously and I quickly looked away, blush deepening even more. I decided I probably needed to say something lest she get the wrong idea. Course that was exactly when my mouth decided to fail me. I opened and closed it several times, intent on rectifying the awkwardness of the situation at hand only for her to decide now was a fantastic time to catch on to the issue at hand. Her face lit up in realization before a sinful, irritating smirk fell across her face. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh." She hummed, thoroughly amused at my discomfort. "Your one of those elves.. What with the short fanciful looks, and the small stolen whispers you mutter to yourself when you think no one is listening. I bet you even enjoy making the fairer sex crumble under your sultry smooth words, rarely getting a no." I balked compleately, outraged at having been so clearly caught in my own machinations.

Finally, my mouth found form, and a rapid fire slew of words rose out of it like the wind. "I've absolutely no idea what you're talking about for you to even assume such a thing is quite frankly insulting and I'll have you know I have been told no plenty of times by multiple different people and I never just haphazardly go about throwing myself on anyone and… Why are you laughing at me?" My voice trailed off to nothing as the woman sitting on the ragged stool in front of me began to shake, uncontrollable laughter flowing off her body in waves. She shook in place, and I was reminded of Nirnroot. Not for the high pitched whine it made, but rather for the constant swaying it did, even in areas of low wind. She opened her mouth a few times in an attempt to speak, but laughter was all that fell out. It was crisp and high, while being light and fluffy. All in all it had this very soothing bubbly feeling to it that I was trying really hard not to enjoy.

"Listen…" I growled, menace steadily making its way to the forefront of my throat. "It really isn't that funny, now will you knock it off?!?!?!" Yeah, like that worked. She just laughed harder, and once or twice she came dangerously close to falling off that beaten up log. Finally, after what felt like years and much irritation she settled, clutching her sides and wiping tears away from her eyes before she found it in her to speak. "Ahahahaha that's great.. Man I really needed that after dealing with what was almost your corpse for the majority of the night. Whew. It really is alright miss. I understand your plight I do, it's just hysterical seeing it from the outset." I blinked twice, unsure I had heard her right over the din of howling laughter that still radiated throughout the room. "Wait.." I started, doubt creeping into the back of my mind as the question I so desperately wanted to ask tumbled out. "What do you mean seeing it from the outset?"

At once Angi's smile dropped, replaced instead by a low blooming blush that told me everything I needed to know. "Ohhhhhhh. Well that's interesting." My voice left me in a sultry whisper, something I noted with supreme pleasure caused an uncontrollable shiver to run through Angi's spine. I tried to push myself up on my elbows to get closer to her, before a subtle hand in the middle of my breasts pushed me back down. The bandages underneath her fingers pulsed with discomfort, having been unchanged since I woke. As embarrassing as it probably was for Angi, I decided to ask her while I was awake to see her reaction. She had just tucked me in, but I thought of my next act as sweet revenge.

"Oh Angi, would you do me the humblest of favors, and change my bandages? The pressure you put on them to stop my rising has reminded me of their uncomfortability. You see I'd do it myself, but a certain blond haired blue eyed beauty told me I shouldn't move." Angi choked on her breath, and actually fell off her stump this time.

I thought it was hilarious.

A fact she regarded, with much irritation when she stood to find me clutching sides in laughter. Her face was beet red, while Magnus's light blossomed through the still undrawn curtains. Midday was rapidly closing on them, to be left for tomorrow's lesson. Angi regained herself, promptly squeezing my sides and making my face go blue in pain. She let go as quickly as she'd grabbed me and I got the message. "Owwwwww. I know I teased you but don't you think that was a little much? I almost died. Twice. Least you could be is understanding. It's been a hell of a start to my journey into Skyrim. Been here barely three days and already I have dragons trying to kill me."

Angi's face drew a blank, before horrified realization settled across it. "Dragon's? In Helgen? Just what the hell happened there?" She whispered, before seeming to ignore it in favor of giving me what would become my first true objective here in Skyrim. "Never mind that. You must bring this information to Riverwood. We're holed up not too far from there. My cabin was much too far to bring you to so I borrowed this one, anyways, ask around the town. I'm sure you'll find someone who can point you in the direction of where this information is needed most. If Dragons truly have returned to Skyrim, then all of Tamriel is no longer safe. Our lesson tomorrow can wait. My cabin is on the outskirts of a hold called Falkreath, big woodsy area with many mountains. I'm situated on one, look for a snowed out path."

Her information slammed into my brain with force of lightning, and I reeled with it. Dragons weren't still around here? They'd never been mentioned back home, so I hadn't even thought to ask if they existed still. I only knew what the creature was when I saw it, vaguely remembering a lesson taught long before my journey here. I was still home then, and a babe by our standards. I was only 10 then.. I shook my head from the reviere, before asking the question foremost on my mind.

"What is snow?"

Angi looked dumbfounded for a moment, before barking out in such harsh laughter I thought for the briefest of seconds she was dying. It was over as quickly as it arrived, and I was never more confused. I opened my mouth to voice a very irritated what when Angi spoke again, silencing my confusion. "It's fine Miss. I forget myself. You did just tell me you arrived to Skyrim only three days ago, Valenwood has not seen snowfall in a thousand years. A better route to go would be to ask Runil. He runs Falkreaths Hall of the Dead, and knows the path to me well. Give him a shout when you're able."

If only Angi and I knew how ironic those words would be then… Maybe things wouldn't have turned out like this…

She continued, and I found myself impressed at how much she could talk. Valenwood held no elves like her.. "For now though it is time to rest, and I will change your bandages in the morning before we make the trek down to Riverwood. That will be where I leave you. I have a few things of my own I must attend to.." The cryptism with which she spoke left a bitter taste in my mouth, body, mind and soul yearning to know everything. I knew I would get no answer if I asked, and so silence greeted me like the old friend it was. She got up to draw the blinds, before words fell from her mouth once more, in complement to something I hated. "Your eyes are beautiful… Persian Green and Sapphire Blue… Your right water, while your left is the foam that glides over what surely must be the coast of your homeland. Your bronzed skin and hair made of fire tells tales you likely never will. It's strange. To gaze into something so perfect…"

Alright.

So of course my words found me and I had something super witty to say after that which was a phenomenal deflection and I kept my dignity right?

Right?

Phffft. Ha. Like that's what happened.

No, instead I sputtered like an idiot, while Angi watched on at me in amused satisfaction. She fixed the blankets she had used to tuck me in while and drew the curtains closed, before walking out the door with a low "goodnight." Then she was gone,and I was left to face the reality of tomorrow's situation alone. I would need to figure everything out myself in a new region of Cyrodil's empire tomorrow. Life never was simple was it? I wondered what Angi needed to take care of, the things one holds tightly to when strangers are near. She had already done more for me than my family ever did, and I would forever be grateful. I hoped I would see her again soon, but something told me it would be a long time before Angi and I met again. My thoughts refused to calm down, and soon they turned from Angi to home, as they always did when I was left alone.

It had been a long three years away from home, my departure always still vividly fresh on my mind. The rare look of anguish that had crossed Euvenna's face, as Anima stood Idly by next to her. His had been one of stern disapproval, the way Father always looked when I was making a mistake. While my mother's was one I had seen only a handful of times, for the few particularly bad situations I had found myself in growing up. It bothered me deeply how much I still yearned for their approval. How much I wished to see them here with me and share in my travels, as opposed to being worlds away from me. I had traveled so unbelievably far from my home, and still had so much longer to go. I felt it in my bones, and had followed it all the way to Skyrim. I could only resist the call for so long.

I don't know why, but something had called me here, to Skyrim. It felt like I was on the cusp of learning a piece of myself no one else knew, and that exact thought excited me greatly. Why was I here? Who or what had called me here? Would the emptiness in my heart finally fade? Was my other half here, lurking, somewhere in the wild or the dark? Would this be my place of death? A call of the void I could not ignore? Or was it something else entirely? These questions and oh so many more tangled and yelled and fought inside my head, each begging purchase at the forefront of my mind.

All of them warranted answers, and I had the sneaking suspicion I would get them soon. It was that thought that had me drifting steadily off to sleep, before a pair of bright orange eyes set on the palest face I'd ever seen roused me from my sleep hours later. The eyes had burned through me like fire, and I spent the remainder of my time waiting for tomorrow thinking about the woman with orange eyes, with a background most palest white. I knew not of the woman I had seen and it disturbed me greatly. Was she friend? Or foe? Was she even real? Or a figment conjured up from my tired achy body? Another burning question enamored me, and I found it was all I could focus on.

Who was the woman with orange eyes and pale skin, who appeared to me in dreams unbeknownst to and against my will? Would I find her, or would she find me?

It would be many many days before I found out.


End file.
